Owl You Need is a Good Read

Pretty Girl-13

Hmm….I really expected to like this more. I know that may sound….weird (for lack of a better word) when thinking about the subject of the book but it could have been written so well. I know that this book is out there to educate kidnappings/sexual abuse that in the end come to happier conclusions (Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard, etc.) but there were no surprises here. I found myself thinking, “was that supposed to be a surprise?” “Really? That’s the “twist”?” and I guess I’m not sure what I fully expected from this book. It did it’s job in introducing the world to a character that you could almost relate to. I thought some of the plot lines were a little weird. I really loved the idea of exploring Disassociative Identity Disorder and the reality of being in a situation you are beyond dealing with and your body basically taking over. But, and this is a big one, this could have been MUCH better. I applaud the author for taking a really hard subject and giving it a voice. Not often in literature for teens do certain sort of taboo subjects come up.Angie, our main character, goes camping and the suddenly finds herself back on the street she lives on. She goes home and her parents are elated to see her. She doesn’t understand that three years have passed because she doesn’t remember them. Her alternate personalities are basically shielding her from what has occurred so the last thing she remembers is leaving to go camping and then winds up home instead.

I found I couldn’t relate to Angie as a person. The story felt like a story and not a world that I could try to understand and join. It lacked some sort of emotion for me that would have made it seem more realistic or at least made the characters more realistic. I also had a hard time accepting her “alters” as real characters. The interactions with them were strange and kind of detracted from the story a bit for me.

I wouldn’t say I don’t recommend that you read this, just that it really wasn’t for me.

The Book Owls is a blog devoted to all things books from four book-loving owls from the Midwest. We love our YA books, but branch out into all other genres. Get to know us below!

Madeleine roosts, reads, and writes from the Twin Cities. When not reading, she can be found working in a library.

Just like Nox's name suggests, when it comes reading, the darker the book the better. A NoDak native, Nox currently roosts in Wyoming.

Sonya reads and writes about books from her nest in North Dakota. She can often be found working at the library, reading, watching way too many different TV shows, or cuddling with her ridiculously adorable and badly behaved cat, Leroy.

Zelda may be the smallest owl, but her beautiful magenta plumage makes her the brightest. She loves to read YA fiction and is a lifelong Harry Potter fan.